The present disclosure relates generally to flexible doll toys and posable action figure toys. More particularly, it includes dolls and action figures with an outer surface constructed from a soft, flesh-like material, and a bendable inner skeleton.
Many different varieties of flexible dolls and action figures have been developed over the years, mainly for the purposes of entertainment and display. Creation of a flexible or posable figure generally requires creation of a movable articulated body and limbs, ideally configured to retain whatever pose the figure is placed into. Furthermore, it is desirable that the figure be posable a large number of times without failure of the structure.
One class of posable figures includes an inner armature or skeleton, possibly including joints to recreate the articulation of a human skeleton, and a molded outer covering or body constructed of a flexible material that surrounds and is bonded or otherwise anchored to the inner skeleton. Examples of such toys are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 280,986, 1,189,585, 1,551,250, 1,590,898, 2,017,023, 2,073,723, 2,109,422, 2,392,024, 2,601,740, 2,684,503, 3,325,939, 3,284,947, 3,395,484, 3,624,691, 3,955,309, 4,123,872, 4,136,484, 4,233,775, 4,932,919, 4,954,118, 4,964,836, 5,516,314, 5,630,745, 5,762,531, 5,800,242, 6,155,904, and 6,217,406, and in publications JP49-18954, JP49-18955, JP60-97067, JP61-94090, JP61-94091, JP61-94092, JP62-53686, JP62-164092, JP63-103685, JP11-212369, WO0067869, and WO0010665. Other examples of flexible doll toys and action figure toys are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,277,601, 3,716,942, 4,470,784, 4,932,919, 5,017,173, and 6,074,270, and in publication WO0108776. The disclosures of all of these patents and publications are incorporated herein by reference.
An improved posable figure is provided, having extended life and resistance to failure, and being repeatedly posable in a realistic fashion. The posable figure has an inner skeleton including one or more primary members constructed of a bendable material such as metal wire, and an outer molded body covering constructed of a flexible substance such as an elastomer material. The inner skeleton also may include one or more secondary members molded over portions of the primary members, to limit flexion of the primary members and/or to connect the primary members to form an articulated structure.
The advantages of the posable figure provided will be understood more readily after a consideration of the Drawings and the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment.